Book News: Vonnegut Writes J.F.K., Whitman in “Breaking Bad”

“Reading a novel, of course, we always have to perform acts of decoding and mind reading. Normally the effort is as unconsciously second nature as it is in real life. But when we’re faced with a narrator who can’t share the task, we have to face our own power —and its limits.” Tom Cutterham on novels with autistic narrators.

Joanna Hershon, the author of “A Dual Inheritance,” and Adelle Waldman, the author of “The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.,” discuss their likes and dislikes, as well as what it means to be a Jewish writer.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote a letter to J.F.K. volunteering his services to Kennedy’s campaign.

Noah Berlatsky argues that comparing comic books to poetry does a disservice to comic books.

Following the Bank of England’s announcement that Jane Austen will replace Charles Darwin on the ten-pound note, Abe Books has imagined what other currencies would look like with the faces of notable national writers. (Rebecca Mead writes about those who opposed the Jane Austen currency).